Antithesis
by SweetChi
Summary: Coruscant's industrial zone has a lot of interesting sights - extra large spider roaches, fat crime lords, feral droids... But Obi-Wan finds none of those as interesting as its newest addition - The Slayer.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing and am making no money from this. I write purely for enjoyment.

**Chapter One**

The ship settled on the Antipodes and both he and his Master stared out at the dilapidated landscape in front of them. The Factory District was the exact opposite of the Republic City, and he wasn't just talking about its location on the planet. While the Republic City gave the image of cleanliness and order (on the surface anyway) the Factory District immediately gave the observer a sense of hopelessness and danger, well earning its other name of Feral City.

"Splitting up is the best course of action," Qui-Gon said again. Obi-Wan was starting to get the feeling he was trying to convince himself of the fact more than repeating it for his student's benefit. "We'll draw too much attention together. Whatever you do, Padawan. Do not let them know you are a Jedi."

Tugging at his unfamiliar clothing and at the fabric wrapped around his head to hide his braid, he nodded. "Yes, Master." He understood the importance, but it didn't mean he had to like it.

"And remember to watch out for the feral droids," Qui-Gon went on, making sure his lightsaber was tucked out of sight and motioning to Obi-Wan to do the same.

Holding in a sigh of impatience, he showed his Master where he'd stashed his lightsaber - under his tunic and the waistband of his pants near the small of his back. Qui-Gon nodded, momentary amusement flashing in his eyes.

"You're ready to go then," he teased, obviously feeling Obi-Wan's impatience.

"I've been ready, Master," he smirked. "It's you that's doing the dallying."

Qui-Gon smiled back for a moment before becoming serious. "Remember that this is a fact checking mission only, Obi-Wan. Whatever you may see, we are not to interfere, only bring the information back to the Council for further review."

Obi-Wan nodded, his lips pressed tightly together.

"Something to say?" Qui-Gon asked, the light amusement back in his voice.

"It just seems… like a waste of time, Master," Obi-Wan haltingly said. He wasn't one to argue about the wishes of the Council, they were his elders, his betters - he was just a mere Padawan (though, hopefully for not much longer) - but going to the trouble of tracking down this crime ring, following the path of information all the way to the Antipodes, why not shut it down while they were there? Why the extra step?

Qui-Gon nodded and Obi-Wan had no doubt he'd picked up on all his semi-mutinous thoughts. "Because we aren't sure of the scope of the ring yet. If its reach extends to other planets then just cutting the head off the beast won't stop its spread. The limbs will take root, become self-sufficient."

"That's an… interesting analogy," Obi-Wan noted with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I rather outdid myself with that one, didn't I," Qui-Gon said, stroking his beard lightly and looking impressed with himself.

Obi-Wan shook his head and turned toward the exit, no doubt he had the most… _interesting_ Master.

"I heard that and will take it as a compliment," Qui-Gon said behind him, his voice lined with laughter.

"I'm not sure it was meant as one," Obi-Wan shot back with a grin.

They lost their light banter when they stepped outside of the ship. It was Obi-Wan's first time in the Antipodes and he had to admit that he hoped it was his last. Besides the desolation that practically oozed up from the ground, there was also an unpleasant smell permeating the air - a mixture of old industrial pollution, corroding metals and general scent of unwashed bodies. Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to get used to it, Obi-Wan centered himself, gave Qui-Gon a nod and headed in his assigned direction.

Most of the buildings were old factories, long shut down since cheaper labor and less strict waste codes could be found on planets further away from the core. Derelict and abandoned, most of these buildings were now homes to unsavory types and served as centers for illegal operations. Such crime rings were the reason he and Master Qui-Gon were there in the first place - ordered by the Council to search out rumors of Slavis Greely and his dark workings that had been tainting not only the Republic City, but spread to surrounding planets as well.

Trying to stay silent and out of sight, Obi-Wan stuck to the shadows and moved carefully. It was rumored that feral droids roamed the streets of the Factory District - some believed them turned by a virus, others by simple neglect. No one knew for sure. And while Obi-Wan wasn't positive of their existence, he knew that going up against one without the use of the Force or his lightsaber wasn't something he wanted to attempt.

As he crept through the city, the amount of women and children out and about caught him off guard. They all looked fearful and thin as they rushed through the streets, obviously trying to get to their destinations as quickly as possible, but not one of them looked dangerous. He'd never thought anything but criminals lived in the area, but it seemed there were also poor families there as well.

The low rumble of an approaching droid reached him before he saw it, giving him time to slide further back in the shadows and crouch down, making himself as small of a target as possible. It was impossible to tell what shape the machine would be in or what capabilities it still had. Since the fall of the actual factories in the district, the droids had probably roamed free, with no maintenance or orders, the combination of which Obi-Wan thought would skew what they thought they were supposed to be doing and could make them incredibly dangerous. But given the type of people that lived in the area, it was never deemed a problem of much importance. Why spare the manpower to clear out the droids in the area that was overrun with criminals anyway? It wasn't a point of view Obi-Wan particularly agreed with but it was one he understood.

The droid finally came into view and Obi-Wan mentally sighed in relief - it was ancient and barely moving. It could probably still be a problem if it was able to sense him, but given its condition, he doubted it could. The mechanics that made up their sensors were sensitive and required regular maintenance to work properly - something this droid was obviously lacking.

He was so busy watching the droid pass that he missed the group watching him from the shadows across the street. When it disappeared around a corner and he did finally lay eyes on them, he knew he was in trouble. Reaching out his senses, he prodded their intentions. Suspicion clouded their minds toward him, dark thoughts of what he could be doing there and what they were going to do to him tumbled over one another, making Obi-Wan's stomach roll. Deciding the best way to deal with this was avoidance, he turned in the other direction, only to find more hateful stares coming from that direction. They started moving toward him, boxing him in.

"Problem?" He asked, trying to speak as little as possible lest they spot his accent.

"Maybe, maybe not," one of the men on his left said. Dark, close set eyes sat on a square face, narrowed and sizing him up. "Haven't seen you around here before. Wondering what you're doing here."

"Business," Obi-Wan bit out, hoping that if he stood up to them they'd back off. "Which is none of yours."

A couple of the men chuckled, obviously not intimidated.

"Well, we're making it ours," another man said, not laughing with the others.

Outnumbered twelve to one and surrounded. This wasn't good. He wasn't supposed to do anything to alert anyone that he was a Jedi, but soon he wouldn't have much of a choice.

"And this is why we don't get tourists," a light, feminine voice came from behind them. "You're totally dragging down the local economy with your bad attitudes."

All heads swiveled to the source of the words immediately. Obi-Wan should have use the distraction to get away but the sound of a woman's voice, carefree and sarcastic, in this setting was so jarring that he couldn't help but to look as well.

Short, light-haired and around his own age, she stood in a relaxed pose, feet apart and thumbs hooked in the fabric of her pants. He was too far away to see much more detail and the bodies of the other men somewhat obstructed his view, but it's what he felt that was important. All around him, the men were shuffling backwards away from the girl. They were agitated and he could even detect threads of fear weaving through them. That was interesting. But what he felt from her was nothing. Nothing at all.

Now that… _that_ was disconcerting.

"Slayer…" One of the men hissed, still edging backwards, his body tensed for fight or flight.

"The one and only," she smiled brightly before it morphed into a thoughtful look. "Well… most of the time. Here, I am. At least, I think I am…"

Obi-Wan wondered if maybe she was insane.

"Anyway, why don't you boys run along. I'll take things from here," she said, her blinding smile returning.

"And if we don't?" One of the men asked - Obi-Wan noted that he was the furthest away from her.

"Then I guess I'll have to do things the hard way, which involves me leaving your broken and bleeding bodies in the street for the droids to find," she said lightly, never losing her smile.

The men stood there, shuffling their feet awkwardly then took off all at once, scattering all directions.

While she watched them go with a head shake and an eye roll, he watched her. Now that he could see her with an unobstructed view, he was even more confused. She was… _small_, completely unassuming. Not at all what these types would find intimidating. And she wasn't even carrying any kind of weapon that he could see, not even a blaster. Why were these men running from her?

Turning her eyes back on him, she gave him another smile, this one smaller, but more genuine. "You should be more careful. I wish I could say they were the worst the area has to offer, but not so much. They're actually pretty harmless compared to most of the stuff around here."

"Why did you help me? I could be like them," he blurted.

"Twelve to one odds don't sit well with me," she said, turning away from him and walking down the road. "Besides, I could tell you weren't looking for a fight."

"Wait," he said, jogging to catch up with her. He should let her go, continue on his way, but he figured he could use someone with local knowledge to find what he was looking for quicker. And really, he was just curious. "Are you busy? Can you take over the job of welcoming the tourists that the others were obviously not doing properly?"

"Wow, I haven't heard anyone that well-spoken since I got here" she said, looking over and up at him with a small smirk as he caught up with her.

"I'm… Mace," he said, internally grimacing immediately. Great idea, let's distract her from your Republic City speech and hide the fact that you're a Jedi by using a false name… of another Jedi.

"Mace, huh? Like the weapon?"

"The weapon?" He repeated in confusion.

"Where I'm from a mace is a this big spiky ball on the end of a chain attached to a pole, you swing it around and hit people with it."

"Really," Obi-Wan said, fascinated. That sounded… brutal. "So, you're not from around here then?"

"Nope, I ended up here kind of by accident about a year ago," she said with a shrug. And while he was still unable to read her, a fact that both frustrating and interesting, he could tell from the way her shoulders tightened slightly that the 'accident' that brought her here was something she didn't want to talk about.

"Why haven't you left?"

"I thought about it. Almost did. But… there are a lot of people here that aren't bad, ya know? People that actually used to work in the factories when they were still running and didn't have the money to leave when they shut down. So they're stuck here. I saw… horrible things happen to some of those people…"

"So you stay to protect them?" Obi-Wan asked, impressed but also bewildered. She was just one girl…

"Someone has to. And it's not like I have anything better to do."

"Don't you have a family? Friends? A job? Something to get back to from before you 'accidently' ended up here?"

"No," she answered flatly - her tone telling him in no uncertain terms that the subject was not to be pressed upon.

"So, that's all you do here? Rescue people? Don't you just end up saving the same people over and over?"

"I help them leave this place," she said, looking out over the darkening skyline. "I've met a couple pilots - some are just nice guys, some owe me a favor or two, so I have them take a family somewhere else. Either that or I take down some stupid thug who has some money on him and use it to buy people a way out of here, a fresh start somewhere else."

"So, the people you save… they don't even stay?" Obi-Wan asked, suddenly realizing how absolutely alone the girl in front of him was.

"Nope, they move on to bigger and better things," she said, flashing him a smile. It was genuine too - she was really happy that they got out, even though she was left here.

"What's your name?"

She stopped and looked to the right suddenly, her head cocking to the side and her eyes narrowing. Then she grabbed his sleeve and yanked him with far more force than one would expect someone of her size to have into a shadowed alcove.

"What-"

"Shhh," she said, eyes still glued to a spot in the distance.

The setting sun cast everything in slanted, sharp shadows. After a moment, one of the shadows detached from the others, ambling along the road with lurching gait. A droid? How did she sense it before him? It stopped periodically to scan the area - Obi-Wan hoped it was just by sight and not by detection sensors, but the girl next to him didn't seem to be concerned, she just stayed completely still, eyes locked on the robot.

"If they weren't so much with the homicidal rage, they'd almost be sad," she muttered, eyes trained toward where the droid had disappeared before shaking her head and continuing on in the direction they'd been going before.

"You never answered me," Obi-Wan said, falling in step beside her.

"Huh?"

"Your name?"

"Oh, everyone just calls me Slayer."

"I didn't ask what everyone called you. I asked your name," he said, making sure the words were just curious and lightly coated with sarcasm instead of sounding rude or arrogant.

"Hmph," she huffed, putting her nose in the air and turning down a side street. "I don't tell guys my name on the first date."

"D-date?" He sputtered behind her. "I hardly think this could be considered a date."

"Give me a break, I fight rabid droids and pathetic thugs all day, this is as date-like as things get for me."

Obi-Wan couldn't help the smile at her words. She was certainly different than anyone else he'd ever met.

"So, Mace," she said, making him flinch at his own idiocy at giving that name again. "What's the sitch with you?"

"The… sitch?"

"Why are you here? While the 'tourist' bit is fun for the sarcasm part of my act, it'd be easier to help you out if I knew why you were really here."

Obi-Wan ticked his eyes to her and then back at the bleak landscape of the city, wondering how much to tell her.

"What do you know about the Slavis Greely?"

"That he's bad news. His band of merry men are like flies – anywhere there's some kind of crap going down, there they'll be," Buffy said, her lip curling in distaste. "Slavery, prostitution, smuggling - you name it, if it's illegal, they're doing it.

"I work for someone that's… concerned about the scope of Greely's operation," Obi-Wan said, picking his words carefully.

Buffy paused and looked at him seriously. "There's a lot of okay people here, I can't have you waging a war and them getting caught in the middle."

"I assure you, I'm only here to gather information," he said, looking right in her eyes and hoping she'd see he was telling the truth - they were very green…

She stared back at him for a long moment before she apparently saw enough to believe him. "Okay, I'll help you under one condition. You have to promise to give me a heads up before the hammer falls."

He nodded, impressed not only by her desire to protect innocent people but also by her shrewdness in detecting that he could cause problems here on a large scale.

"I swear it," he answered.

She nodded and they continued on their way. To where, Obi-Wan had no idea, but he strangely didn't mind. There was something about this… _Slayer_, that he trusted.

"Alright, first thing then; you seem to be thinking Slavis is in charge. Hate to burst your bubble, but a spider roach has more intelligence, not to mention he's eight different kinds of crazy. He's taking directions from someone way smarter than him."

"You're sure," Obi-Wan asked, his brow furrowing in worry. They'd been under the impression that Greely was the mastermind behind this. If that wasn't the case, then this wasn't the "head of the beast", as Master had called it, at all. This was just one part of a much larger operation than they'd originally thought.

"Totally sure," she answered. Her speech was puzzling, but not unpleasant. Eventually, he'd be interested in finding out where she came from. "I saw him getting chased by a droid one day and panic so much that he pulled his blaster out upside down and shot himself in the leg with it. Another time he got himself stuck in an alley because he didn't realize he was too fat to fit. One of his cronies had to grease him to get him out."

Obi-Wan choked off a burst disbelieving laughter. Those were far from the actions of the criminal mastermind the report he'd read gave the impression Greely was. They turned another corner and she came to a stop, pointing down the strip of abandoned factories barely lit in the lingering light of the day.

"Fourth one down," she said, her voice surprising him by taking on the tone of a commander. "They have droids of their own watching over the building, plus a rotating shift of guards. Ground floor is a dummy floor, set up to fool intruders, the real stuff starts on the second floor. There's usually anywhere from ten to thirty people in the building. Slavis is in and out randomly."

He stared at her a moment in shock, this was more than he could have hoped for.

"Well, this is where I leave you," she said, looking hesitant and indecisive. "I wish I could go but…"

"I never intended you to," Obi-Wan said sincerely.

"It's just… I do my thing, keeping the people here safe, and they do theirs. If I started butting into every bit of criminal activity around here, not only would I be busy around the clock, but it would kind of mess up what I have going here," she said, looking frustrated and trying to explain. "If I leave them be and only step in when they're messing with some civilian, they're less likely to keep doing that. But if I start messing around in _everything_-"

"Then they'll take out their frustrations on others," Obi-Wan finished.

"Yeah," she said with a sigh. He realized then that it bothered her, letting these men get away with what they were doing. "And honestly, killing people, not so much my deal. I'm fine with keeping the innocent safe."

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with that," he said, looking down at her. There was something… something he couldn't quite put his finger on about her. But unfortunately he didn't have the time to explore that now. "Thank you for the help."

"I get the feeling you wouldn't have needed it," Buffy said with a small knowing smile. He returned the smile with one of his own and turned to leave, but paused, indecisive, before turning back around. She'd done so much for him in the short time he'd known her. He should at least be honest with her…

"My name… it's not-"

"I know."

"You… know?" He knew he should feel suspicious, but the Force told him he needn't be.

"You don't look like a 'Mace'," she said with a simple shrug.

"My real name is-"

"Save it for the next date," she interrupted him with a wink.

He watched her disappear into the darkness with a smile on his face. Next date, indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The tiny figure hugging her knee gave a squeeze and a whispered, "Thanks, Buffy."

Resting her hand briefly on the dirty, matted locks before the little girl scampered into the ship to join her parents, Buffy let herself revel in her moment of success.

"Quit looking so damned impressed with yourself," a deep voice said from her left.

Okay, reveling over…

"I know it's a new concept to you, but doing good things usually has the side effect of feeling good about yourself. You should try it sometime," she said, cocking her head to look at Bal.

At about eight feet tall with blue skin and dark, creeping tattoos on his arms and neck, he was someone who would've been on her "Slay now, talk never" list back in Sunnydale. But this wasn't Sunnydale and Bal, while being an ass ninety percent of the time, was one of the few people Buffy trusted.

Kinda.

Mostly.

Sometimes.

"And if I said I'd take these people for free…"

Buffy frowned and then shrugged. "Okay, so I'd wonder what you were up to."

"See, you force me into not doing nice things with your suspicions. Now give me my credits," he grinned, holding out his hand.

With a head shake and a snort, Buffy handed over the money and watched Bal saunter back into his ship with a wave over his shoulder.

"See ya next time, Slayer," he called as the door to his ship closed.

Buffy gave the departing ship a wave of her own as she watched it lift off the rooftop and disappear into the hazy night sky. Well, that was fun - a job well done and all that - but she had a fan waiting patiently at the base of the building she should probably pay a visit to. Maybe she'd Spiderman it down, freak him out a little. She stretched her arms out above her head and gave an evil little smile before taking a running leap over the side of the building.

This wasn't her first time careening off this building to scare the hell out of some jackass waiting to ambush her – she knew right where the ledges were on the next building over; where the handholds were; how not to end up a smear on the road below. Leaping out from about forty feet up, she caught hold of a huge pole jutting up from the ground for who-knew-what-reason and slid down it to ground level, humming the Mario theme song as she went.

She landed in a crouch in front of the wide-eyed rat-looking alien and gave a little pout.

"Shouldn't I get some coins or a castle or a princess or something after that? You're a total let-down."

A muzzled mouth opened a couple times before snapping shut and, after one last wild look, he took off in a scrambling of claws.

Typical.

Buffy watched him go with a sigh. Sometimes she felt like that was the worst part of her new home away from home – that all her awesome wit and pun-age and pop culture-y fun was completely lost on the locals.

Well, that and she was in a crap-hole of a city without her friends or family or-

No.

Not going there again.

Nope.

Taking that deep, familiar "not going to freak out" breath, Buffy focused on the good as she headed off the main strip into a warren of alleys.

She'd helped a family leave this place today. A husband and wife and their little girl would be starting over somewhere new and non-craptastic because of her.

She'd also met someone interesting - the super cute Mr. "Mace", who may or may-not have actually just been a better class of criminal than the good guy her instincts were telling her he was, but was at least new and shiny.

And…

She scrambled to keep the good thoughts going.

And she had a little money and food and a place to live! She had a bed that was kind of comfortable (she'd just needed the past six months to get used to it, that was all), a bathroom (equipped with some pretty weird stuff that she still hadn't completely figured out), and she even had hot- well, warm… ish water.

Ugh, okay, so she'd become a willing minion for some hell beastie for a hot shower, a curling iron and a blow dryer.

She shook her head slightly as she rounded a corner, half her mind on scanning for threats while the other half scolded her for being ungrateful. She was _alive_. She'd jumped off a huge freaking tower to save her sister and the world and she'd made it out in one piece. Maybe not where she wanted to be, but it was way better than being _dead_.

It had taken her a while to come to terms with that - to accept the idea that she'd probably never see her home again. The first few months had been spent in a haze of anger, depression and denial (she'd earned a lot of her reputation in that time – she'd been pretty low on goodwill and mercy at that point). But slowly the feral city she'd landed in had shown her that a Slayer could still do good without having any demons to fight. There was still plenty of evil without Hell as an added ingredient and lots of people that needed some help.

Although, getting used to fighting with _aliens_ instead of demons had taken some getting used to.

And she'd thought living on a Hellmouth had been the epitome of weirdness…

She was good, though. Not that she wouldn't jump at a chance to go home if the opportunity presented itself, but she'd come to grips with the fact that magic didn't seem to be a part of this… world, universe, whatever, that she'd landed in and that another portal _probably_ wasn't going to just pop up and give her a ride back to good old Sunnydale.

But even though she knew all that and had accepted it, sometimes… sometimes there was just this burst of homesickness that left her scrambling for a minute. So, she'd do this clichéd moment of reminding herself of the good and not focusing on the bad. It'd helped keep her sanity intact so far.

Mostly…

Optimism reestablished, she headed home for her hot- warm- warm-ish shower. Buffy instead let her thoughts drift back to the yummy "Mace" from earlier. She wondered if she'd made the right decision cluing him in on Greely's operation. Her first thought had been that he was some kind of undercover cop.

She gave a soft snort at the thought. She wasn't even sure there were such things as cops here. At least she'd never seen anything of the sort. She'd heard some of the kids talking about "Jedi" before – some kind of intergalactic protectors that used telekinesis and wore robes. She actually let out a soft laugh this time. Which was more naïve of her - wanting to think that the cute guy she met today was some kind of space cop instead of a scout for a rival crime syndicate or believing some child's tale about some religious cult of protectors that could move stuff with their minds?

Sensing something ahead, Buffy pulled her thoughts away from cute criminals and cops with brain mojo.

"Buffy, is that you?" A quiet voice came from the dark.

"Sure is, Alec," Buffy whispered back, seeing a tiny head pop up from behind a pile of scrap metal. "What're you doing out here? It's late."

"No it's not, it's early. See?"

A small hand appeared with a finger pointing toward the faint, filmy lightening of the sky.

"Well, look at that," Buffy said, feigning shock and making the little boy giggle. "Time just flies when you're having fun."

He cocked his head like a curious puppy at the expression, and Buffy's throat closed up a little at the thought that maybe it was the word "fun" that confused him more than her choice of words. This place wasn't big on the fun factor…

"Mommy made you breakfast!" He said, apparently deciding his news was more important than any questions. He scrambled out from behind the pile, pulling a little box out with him. "I wanted to make sure you got it on your way home."

She cleared her throat and squatted down in front of Alec. He and his mom, Bria, were two of Buffy's favorite people – she'd been trying to get them out of there from the day she'd met them, but Bria was stubborn. She said Alec was going to be an artist and was saving to take him somewhere beautiful. Pilots that came there just didn't make regular trips to beautiful places. To get one to take Alec and Bria would be expensive. Probably in more than money…

Bria was saving though, and so was Buffy. She was determined to see them get out of this place.

"That was really nice of her. Will you thank her for me?" At his nod, she accepted the box and gave him a stern look. "And thank you for bringing it but you have to be careful, okay? It's dangerous out here."

He gave her such an adult look of "No? Really?" that she had to bite back a smile. She ruffled his hair and stood up, twirling him around by his shoulder and giving him a light shove.

"Okay, get home you little rebel. You promised me a picture for my wall, remember?"

The kid's eyes lit up and he gave her a huge smile. "I already started it! It's really… cooool."

She hoped he thought her grin was from excitement instead of how adorable she thought it was when he used a word he learned from her. He hated it when she got all gooey over how cute he was…

"Can't wait. And Remember to thank your mom for me," she called after him as he bounded down the alley.

Resigned to the fact her shower would have to wait, she followed silently behind - a guardian shadow. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same...

* * *

Throwing the strip of fabric that had been wrapped around his head to the side, Obi-Wan ran his hand vigorously through his hair as he sat down across from Qui-Gon.

"So, you're saying Slavis Greely isn't the mastermind we were led to believe?" Qui-Gon asked, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"Definitely not," Obi-Wan answered. "He's brutal and ambitious but definitely not the brains behind an operation of this scale. He's got a lot of connections and has no problem finding and convincing low level criminals to follow him – a problem that absolutely has to be dealt with – but I'm positive that if we removed him another would be brought in to take his place almost immediately."

"I'm surprised you were able to find so much in such a short period of time. I'm impressed, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said.

Obi-Wan leaned back in his seat, on the verge of crediting his newest contact with his wealth of data, but something stilled his tongue. Instead, he gave his master a cheeky grin.

"Anything would be impressive compared to the complete lack of information you came back with."

"That's not true at all. I found out my Padawan has an affinity for finding contacts in unlikely places. And I found out that eating at the establishments in the area was an unwise decision," Qui-Gon said, turning toward the control panel and rubbing his stomach ruefully.

Obi-Wan watched him for a second longer before turning away, wary of his Master's lack of questioning about his "contact". But more than that, he found he was surprised by his own reluctance to share his encounter with the Slayer. What purpose could keeping her existence a secret have?

"You're still thinking too much, Obi-Wan. Trust your instincts."

"I think… I should stay," Obi-Wan said slowly. "I don't know why, but-"

"Very good," Qui-Gon interrupted, priming the thrusters. "It's of the utmost importance that you trust yourself - that you open yourself to what the Force is trying to tell you."

Obi-Wan nodded, but noted that Qui-Gon was still preparing for take-off. "Then I should-"

"But you're not staying here."

"What? But, you just said-"

"Yes, and _my_ instincts are telling me that you remaining here would lead to nothing good," Qui-Gon said seriously. "And since I have Master instincts and you have Padawan instincts…"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Obi-Wan leaned back in his seat. Was it any wonder he was still a Padawan with tutelage like this?

"I heard that."

Obi-Wan shook his head and looked out over the depressing landscape. No matter what his Master said, his _instincts_ were telling him that this wasn't the last time he'd see this landscape.

Or _her_.

He pointedly ignored the sidelong glance from Qui-Gon as they took to the sky.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Obi-Wan watched the bustle of the city below from high above in the Jedi Temple. At contrast with the movement outside, he was perfectly still, hands clasped behind his back. On the inside though, his attempts to quell his impatience were falling short.

Master Qui-Gon had been meeting with the council for hours now to report their findings in the Industrial Zone. Normally, the time taken for bureaucratic procedure was tolerated without complaint, but this time he couldn't get the Slayer out of his mind.

She spent her days just _helping_ people…

It made all of this formality seem so… _useless_. A waste of time.

He stomped that thought down immediately. Thinking such things in a building full of Jedi was foolhardy.

Things were done this way because they needed to be. They all couldn't just run around doing as they pleased without guidance. The council was there for a reason.

The opening of the door behind him distracted him from his own disturbingly hollow reassurances.

Qui-Gon gave him a long look from the doorway, which he returned by focusing on feelings of innocence and peace. After a flash of amusement, Qui-Gon nodded toward the hall and walked away, leaving Obi-Wan to catch up.

"What did they say? When do we go back?" He asked, falling in step beside him.

"We don't. We have a new assignment."

Obi-Wan stopped, forcing Qui-Gon to stop and look at him or leave him behind.

"Not going- But we haven't _done_ anything."

"The Council has received word that the Black Sun are moving on Greely – they've apparently decided the Industrial Zone has proved itself too profitable to leave to another syndicate. We've been ordered to stay out of the fray."

"That's ridiculous! There are women and children there! We could-"

"Having Jedi show up in the middle of their war would only up the chaos and casualties," Qui-Gon said, his eyes softening. "A group will be sent in after the syndicates weaken each other. The families there will have the assistance they've been lacking thus far."

_But will it be too late…_ Obi-Wan wondered.

In response to this, he heard Master Yoda in his Qui-Gon's mind, _"Young Kenobi… Cloudy his future has become…"_

The remembered spike of alarm he felt was echoed in himself as Qui-Gon continued down the corridor.

"We leave at first light tomorrow."

Obi-Wan let the matter drop.

* * *

Master Yoda's words to Qui-Gon stuck with Obi-Wan for the rest of the day – but it didn't stop him from going to Dex's as soon as dark settled over the city. Maybe he couldn't be involved directly, but he'd made a promise. The "hammer" falling might not be of his doing, but the Slayer deserved a warning all the same.

The inside of Dex's was busier than usual and Obi-Wan had to dodge a few patrons on their way out before he caught sight of his friend at the kitchen window. Not really wanting to draw too much attention to himself, he stuck to the fringes of the restaurant and slipped in the back.

Caught in the edge of Dex's vision, he turned with a bellowed "OBI-WAN!"

So much for stealth…

"Hello, Dex," he said with a smile. Seeing his friend was about to abandon his cooking for a hug, Obi-Wan waved him off. "No, no, don't let me interrupt your work. From the look of things out there, you've got your hands full keeping up with that crowd."

Of course his insistence was for naught, and he found himself embraced briefly but forcefully.

"You're obviously not here for the food," Dex said, getting back to work. "So what is it I can do for you?"

"I need to borrow a ship."

Dex did a double-take. "You have a whole fleet at that fancy Jedi temple of yours. You can't use one of those?"

"Not for this."

Dex gave him another look before focusing on the food again. "When would you have it back?"

"Before first light."

"Before first light in how many pieces?"

Obi-Wan laughed. "Ideally, in one piece."

"Ideally…" Dex said doubtfully. "See that it is my friend, see that it is."

* * *

Obi-Wan landed his borrowed ship on the roof of an abandoned building in the industrial zone - its scrubby exterior blending well with the surroundings. Now that he was here though, overlooking the vast rotting city below, he realized he may have overestimated his ability to find the Slayer, warn her, be back in time to return the ship to Dex and meet Qui-Gon for their new assignment. He _might_ be cutting it a bit close…

Pushing away any doubt, he closed his eyes and let his mind settle and focus. He knew he couldn't sense _her_ (which was another curiosity he needed to explore further), but her effect on those around her had been noticeable, maybe he could-

His eyes snapped back open at the wave of anger he located almost immediately. And at the forefront of the minds of these angry individuals was one face…

Concerned, he scaled down the side of the building by way of a crumbling stairway – leaping from landing to landing. He'd just reached the ground when a body came bursting from a broken window in the next building over, landing in a roll and springing to her feet in a show of incredible agility. The Slayer blinked at him blankly for a second before her face lit up in a look of surprised pleasure.

"Mace! Long time no see," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Thought you'd left town."

"I did. I just came back to see you," he said, distractedly looking behind her where two men were yelling obscenities as they carefully tried to climb through the window she'd come through. "Expecting company?"

"Let's focus on the important thing here – you came back to see me?"

Just then, a group of about ten varying species came tearing around the corner.

"There she is!"

With a glance behind her, the Slayer grabbed his sleeve and yanked him into a run with her.

"Run, Forest, run!" She practically cackled.

"I do believe you've gotten even more strange since the last time we met."

"And you still came back for more. What's that say about you?"

"Excellent point," he said, unable to hold back a smile as they rounded a corner and leapt the remains of a deteriorating droid. "Would you like to tell me why we're running?"

"Just separating the idiots that need taught a lesson from the rest of the pack."

"Taught what lesson exactly?"

She shot him a feral grin. "That it's a _terrible_ idea to chase me."

"And what started this chasing?"

"Just a friendly game of pazaak," she said with so much fake innocence that he had to laugh.

"So they need 'taught a lesson' about not getting mad when you cheat them?"

"It sounds really bad when you say it like that…" She pouted before brightening as she pulled him to a stop in a relatively clear area. "Thank you for traveling with Buffy's Adventure Travel. We've arrived at our destination. Please disembark in an orderly fashion."

He could still feel the angry swarm – closing in now that they'd stopped. Were they-

Wait… What was a _Buffy_?

He turned to find her much closer than before – but not unpleasantly so.

"Are… _you_ Buffy?"

"Told 'ya I'd give you my name on our next date," she said, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him steadily backwards.

"Next- um, what-," he stuttered out, unusually flustered.

Then he was stepping through a doorway of a nearby building and a crude door, looking to be made of scraps formed into bars, was closed on him.

"Just hang out here for now. I'll be done in a minute," she said giving a little wave and walking back to the middle of the clearing.

"Slay- Buffy? What are you doing?"

"What kind of host would I be if I dragged you into the middle of my fight on your second visit here?"

He held back from pointing out that that was _exactly_ what she'd done.

"I don't mind, honestly," he said, glancing toward an alley where he could sense the group closing in. "Now open this and- You _can_ open this, right?"

There was no handle on his side and he rattled the door again experimentally. It was nothing a bit of Force couldn't handle, but revealing he was a Jedi was something he should absolutely avoid.

"Of course I can," she said in an offended tone.

"Let me help."

"Uh, no. Seriously, that would kind of defeat the purpose of the lesson if I had some guy here fighting my battles for me."

"You can't fight them all! And what about weapons?"

"Sure I can. And you have to check all your weapons in to join the game – they didn't have time to collect them if they wanted to catch me. Not that it would make much of a difference…"

Before he could argue any more, the group came barreling out of the alley, straight for the Slayer. She just stood there with her hands on her hips, waiting patiently. Just as he was about to break down the door, damn the consequences, she fell into a low fighting stance and proved exactly why she'd earned that name (Slayer, not Buffy – he still wasn't sure what he thought about the latter).

The display in front of him had his grip loosening and hands dropping from the makeshift bars as he leaned forward, eyes taking in every detail. Buffy moved like… well, like a _Jedi_. An _experienced_ Jedi. She fought with a fluidity and strength that only someone with years and years of hands-on experience could get. And she showed _mercy_. Even though the blows aimed at her were obviously meant to be lethal, she pulled punches, dodged when she could have retaliated. She used her speed and skill to injure instead of kill, even though the opportunity presented itself time and time again and she obviously had the know-how to implement such techniques.

He smiled slightly as her voice drifted to him, taunting and light – she truly was teaching them a lesson. Given the reactions he'd seen when he first saw her, it was one that she'd taught before and probably taught often. On the other hand, it was hard to believe that none of these individuals wouldn't return at another time with a blaster or some other weapon to get revenge for the sheer humiliation she was doling out…

One by one, her pursuers gave up – scurrying into the darkness as swiftly as they could with their injuries – until she stood alone once again in the center of the clearing. She brushed her hands against each other briskly and gave a satisfied nod before coming back over. After giving the door an odd little jiggle, it sprang open and she stood back with a little bow. He stepped out and just stared, unsure what exactly to say. Or maybe it was that he had too much to say, too much to _ask_ – he didn't know where to begin.

"Sorry about that, I just don't get visitors, well, ever…" She said, starting to look a little sheepish at his silence. "Kidnapping them and locking them up while I commit acts of violence might not be the best thing to do… I was just glad to see you and- Yeah, okay, I can see why I don't get any visitors…"

Her voice tapered off and she shuffled her feet a little while she awkwardly looked off to the side. Such a complete turnaround from the confident force of nature he'd seen moments before that he couldn't help putting a hand on her shoulder and giving a comforting smile.

"It's fine," he said, ducking his head to catch her eyes. "Quite enjoyable, actually."

"Really?" Then her nose scrunched up playfully. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised that a guy that goes poking around Greely's has got a thing for danger."

Obi-Wan's hand dropped away as he was reminded of his reason for being there.

"Uh-oh, you just got Serious-Business face…"

"Is there somewhere we can talk?"

Her eyes met his and stayed there, all hints of playfulness, teasing and embarrassment falling away until her solemnity was a match for his.

"Sure, this way."

She led him out of the clearing into an alley. He had to wonder if her ability to navigate the streets here was due to familiarity or something more. The more time he spent with her, the more questions he had. Who exactly was she? Where was she from? What was the "accident" that brought her here? How'd she learn to fight like that? And why couldn't he read anything from her? Just to name a few…

Maybe one day he'd get the time to find out. In the meantime…

"Do things like this happen a lot?"

She gave a burst of jaded laughter that he didn't like at all – it didn't sound right coming from her for some reason.

"If by 'a lot' you mean daily. Or hourly. Or minute-ly. Then, yeah, it happens a lot."

Before he could reply she held up her hand and froze at the mouth of alley. Following her lead, he fell still and silent. A moment later he spotted the droid, which disappeared around a building in almost complete silence. So, she really could see that well... One question answered and another takes its place.

"I have to keep a certain level of fear up," she said, continuing on their way as if nothing had happened. "Their memories here are freakishly short and if I don't kick someone's ass on a regular basis they start getting out of hand."

"Yet, you hold back. Knowing they'd kill you given the first opportunity, you still offer them mercy."

She gave a light snort. "You're giving me too much credit. It's more for me than them."

"For you?"

Silence settled between them for so long that he thought that she'd decided to ignore the question. When she finally did speak, her voice was quiet and sad.

"No one here would care, really. It'd be so easy to just… _slip_. They'd be gone and that'd be one less bad guy for me to worry about. But, if I started killing them, what would I be? What would I _become_? I don't know… Maybe I'm being stupid. I let some guy go and he just lives to terrorize someone another day. But I need that line…"

She shook her head a little and glanced at him before quickly looking away – obviously not having meant to give so much away.

"Plus, I can't really blame most of them for being how they are," she said. "It's this place. It makes you a little crazy after a while."

Their winding path through countless alleys had deposited them at a heavy door to a large nondescript building at this point. Buffy's hand reached for the handle and he quickly laid his on top of hers before she could pull it open. She looked up at him questioningly and the words he'd been thinking tumbled from his mouth before he could stop them.

"You're amazing."

Her eyes widened as she stared back, her mouth forming a little "o" of surprise. He internally started to panic at his bold confession, but before he could say anything else the door pushed open from the other side.

Big brown eyes blinked up at him from around the door. Surprise, quickly followed by fear, are what Obi-Wan felt from the small boy – until he saw Buffy. The relief was evident on his face, but was quickly replaced with a pout.

"You're back too early!"

"Too early for what?" Buffy asked, ruffling the child's hair.

"I wanted to have your picture done before you came home! I just needed one more color and there's this stuff leaking out of this droid by the-"

The horrified look on Buffy's face had Obi-Wan choking on a laugh.

"You can't just go out collecting bodily fluids from dead droids to paint with!" Buffy burst out. "That's the kind of stuff serial killers in the making do!"

"It's fine," he argued. "I do it all the time. They're just layin' around anyway…"

Buffy's mouth opened and closed a few times before she just shook her head.

"We'll talk about this later. And you know I don't like you running around at night by yourself."

The child scowled and let his eyes wander back to Obi-Wan.

"I know to be careful. Who's that?"

"Alec, this is my friend Mace. Mace, this is my friend, Alec," Alec's glower at Obi-Wan being introduced as a 'friend' was quickly replaced by preening pleasure at being similarly identified. "He and his mom Bria live down the hall from me."

"It's very nice to meet you, Alec."

"You, too," Alec said with such obvious insincerity that Buffy tugged on a piece of the child's hair.

"Manners, kiddo," she chided. "Nice people are in short supply here, let's try not to chase him off just yet."

"Alec? What are you doing?"

The tired, feminine voice had Alec cringing in guilt as the door opened fully and a woman with dark hair and weary eyes appeared.

"You should be sleeping, mom," he said.

"And I would be if my wayward son didn't disappear every time I turn my back or close my eyes," she scolded before looking up at Buffy. "Thanks for watching out for him."

"No big," Buffy smiled. "Bria, this is Mace. Mace, this is Alec's mom, Bria."

After exchanging polite greetings, Bria snagged the back of Alec's collar and tugged him back inside.

"Aw, mom, come on! I promise I'll be right back!"

"Absolutely not, Alec. And no sneaking out either. You know you're not allowed out while it's dark."

"I have to talk to Mace about some stuff," Buffy said, stepping through the door after them. "But I can come by later to hang with Alec so you can get some worry free rest."

Alec lit up at this idea, his squirming coming to a halt, but Bria was shaking her head. "You already do too much, Buffy. And you've been out all night, you don't have-"

"I want to. It's nice hanging out with Alec after- Well, you know. It's kind of a relief…"

Alec looked confused, but Bria's eyes softened and she nodded. "I know. Come over whenever you want. Now, you, you little sneak, get back inside."

Alec's whining about needing a special color echoed down the corridor as Obi-Wan stepped inside, the heavy door closing behind them with a series of odd clicks.

"Little something special I had one of the pilots pick up for me," she said with a nod at the door. "I like to know the people here are safe when I'm not around."

The next door she led him to was much less impressive. Dented and cracked, it seemed like opening it one more time would be all it could take before it just fell apart. But it swung open quietly and he stepped in after her.

The room smelled like her – a soft and clean scent that seemed utterly out of place in this city. But that was the only hint that Buffy lived in this space. It was purely functional, nothing more.

"I know it's pretty bleh in here," she said, looking around like she'd never really seen it before. "I don't really spend much time here. But Alec's making me a picture, so maybe that'll help…"

"He likes to draw, I take it. And paint?"

"Oh yeah," Buffy said, sitting on the edge of the grey covered bed. "Subject matter around here kinda sucks though. One of these days..."

Her voice faded off and he took a seat next to her.

"They'll leave?"

"Bria's waiting until they have the money to go somewhere 'beautiful'," she said. "Most families just go somewhere, _anywhere_, else. Mostly to places where there's industrial work, since that's what they knew, or something similar. But Bria wants more for Alec. Kinda sick that I'll be sad to see them go, huh?"

"There's nothing 'sick' about missing friends once they're gone."

The flinch was visible and he could almost see her locking down.

"So, what's the what?"

"What?"

"The what with why you're here."

"The what with…" He repeated slowly, his mind sussing out a translation. "Ah, yes, well, I'm here to warn you."

The reaction was instantaneous. Open, expressive eyes shuttered and, while she was still frustratingly blank to him, he could feel a hum of dangerous energy in the air.

"Wait, that came out wrong," he hurried to clarify. "I came across some information – another syndicate, the Black Sun, is coming to eradicate Slavis Greely's organization and take over the area for themselves."

She stared at him, green eyes hard and searching.

"'Them'? Not 'our'?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You said 'take over the area for _them_selves'."

"Well, yes… I'm not a member of the Black Sun," he said.

He tried his best to give her a condensed version of what he knew of the Syndicate. It felt useless though – really, what could he tell her that would actually help? When it came to the two sides tearing each other apart, there was nothing more the people here could do other than stay out of the way. She seemed to feel the same, because she interrupted his description almost immediately.

"So, you show up here, scope the place out and now… someone _else_ is moving in besides you and whoever you work for?"

"The Black Sun is a massive syndicate," he said, choosing his words carefully. He liked Buffy and he trusted her… but only to an extent. "And we're not sure of the scope of Greely's operation yet. If the people I work for were to come in at the same time those two were at war, it would just make things worse."

"Right," she said bitterly. "Worse than a bunch of thugs with a hopped-up sense of self-importance coming in here guns ablazin'."

"I know it- I can't explain everything," he said, that same frustration he felt back in the Jedi Temple coming back. "Please believe that I'd like nothing more than to be here, helping you and these people, but things are… complicated. I just wanted you to know what was coming."

The harshness drained from her face, just leaving her looking tired and sad. Something in him seemed to clench and he fought away the sudden fierce desire to just _stay_.

"Sorry, I'm outta line. You didn't have to come back, it's not your fight. I really appreciate you giving me a heads up."

The _'It's not your fight'_ echoed loudly in his mind and the appropriate 'you're welcome' stuck in his throat.

"It was nice seeing you again, Mace," she said, standing and giving him a courteous, but hollow, smile as she opened her door back out into the hall. "But I guess I have some work to do."

He stood, feeling numb, and followed her back to the main door silently. He knew he had to go… but he just wished…

"Obi-Wan."

"Oh be a what?"

She stopped with the outside door half open, her face scrunched up in confusion and that empty politeness disappearing, much to his relief.

"My name, it's Obi-Wan. Second date, remember?"

"I showed you mine so you're showing me yours?" She smirked.

"Absolutely," he said with a smile as he stepped outside. He sobered as he turned back to her. "Be careful, Buffy."

"Of course," she said, waving away his worry in a way that wasn't at all reassuring. She gave him a sly, playful look as she began shutting the door after him. "Have to be here when you come back, after all. Things don't get really interesting until the third date."

His amusement faded as soon as the door closed, leaving him standing in the hazy light of the vast, dilapidated industrial city. Soon, this place would become a war zone. One girl would fight to keep the innocent safe. And he'd be elsewhere. Following orders.

The weight of his duty as a Jedi had never seemed heavier.

And never more burdensome…


End file.
